The Rocky Mountains are beautiful, but the views from that might be even better. Overall, though, most mountaintops require strenuous off-trail travel, scrambling, or technical rock climbing to reach (or all three).
If those things aren’t in your toolkit, you can still find many mountains in the U.S. that don’t have roads to their summits but which you can still ascend by hiking trails. Let’s look at some of the best.
Swiftcurrent Mountain, Montana
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At the top of this peak on the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park, you can see mountains in all directions, and the view also includes several of the park’s glaciers. There’s a fire lookout up there as well, and in the summer it’s manned by rangers who can tell you more about what you’re looking at.
Mt. Wright, Montana
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Mt. Wright is in the Sawtooth Range near Choteau and on the edge of the vast Bob Marshall Wilderness. It isn’t a very impressive mountain to look at, but the views of an ocean of mountains from its summit are breathtaking. The hike up is short but very steep; you’ll be glad you did it, though.
Trapper Peak, Montana
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Trapper is the highest peak in Montana’s famed Bitterroot Range. The remote location and the steep trail keep this hike from ever becoming too crowded, and there’s a decent chance you’ll have the sweeping views from the roof of the Bitterroots to yourself.
Sacagawea Peak, Montana
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About an hour from Bozeman, Sacagawea is the highpoint of the Bridger Mountains, a narrow range of limestone peaks that soars above the surrounding plains. The trail up it from Fairy Lake is less than 3 miles but is very steep. That just means a fast hike back down after enjoying the panoramic views from up top. This trail gets crowded, but you can wander south from the range’s crest to Hardscrabble Peak and probably have it all to yourself.
Avalanche Peak, Wyoming
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Here’s another hike that’s short but extremely steep. There aren’t a lot of mountains in Yellowstone with summit trails, though, and the other two have lookouts or other development up top. Avalanche is more pristine, and on clear days, you can see the iconic Grand Teton far to the south.
Whiskey Mountain, Wyoming
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From the small town of Dubois at its feet, Whiskey Mountain doesn’t look like much. It’s all about the views, though, and they include the brooding Absaroka Range to the north and east as well as some of the highest peaks of the Wind River Range, which Whiskey is part of, to the south.
Cloud Peak, Wyoming
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Like the last several peaks on this list, this highpoint of the Bighorn Mountains requires steep hiking, but it isn’t a short hike. It’s in fact around 20 miles round-trip. Most people do it as an overnighter, but with an early start and good weather, strong hikers can do it in a day,
Medicine Bow Peak, Wyoming
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Part of Medicine Bow National Forest, the snowy range is an alpine island in southeastern Wyoming near Laramie. Medicine Bow Peak is the highest in the range and has great views of nearby peaks and lakes and, way to the south, Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. There are a few different places to start your summit hike from, and none of the trails are too long, but if you’re looking for the shortest hike and the highest starting point, go to the Sugarloaf Recreation Area.
Bald Mountain, Utah
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The Uintas are the highest mountains in Utah. Bald Mountain isn’t even close to being the highest, but it does have the advantage of having a moderately long and strenuous trail up starting from right off the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway. The view of Reids Peak just to the north is spectacular, and you’ll also like the views east into the heart of the Uintas.
Mt. Timpanogos, Utah
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“Timp,” as the locals call it, is the second-highest peak in Utah’s Wasatch Range, world-famous for its excellent skiing. The 3.5-mile trail up Timp is very steep, but you’ll get plenty of rest by stopping to admire the several waterfalls and the gorgeous wildflowers along the way. At the base of the main summit is an alpine lake with a “glacier” feeding into it. Some intrepid hikers go out with an ice axe and use the glacier as a fast descent. Keep an eye out for the mountain’s resident mountain goats.
Naomi Peak, Utah
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The heights of the Bear River Range are best accessed from a recreational area high up in spectacular Logan Canyon. Naomi Peak is the highpoint of the range, and though it’s not a true alpine peak, it has excellent views of nearby mountains and other surroundings.
Flattop Mountain, Colorado
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Rocky Mountain National Park is popular with mountain climbers, but Flattop Mountain on the Continental Divide gives you a taste of what the climbers there see but without all the extra gear and risk. A little extra effort will get you up the unofficial trail to the summit of nearby Hallett Peak, which is higher and more spectacular than Flattop.
Wheeler Peak, New Mexico
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Wheeler Peak in the Sangre De Cristo Range near Taos is the highest peak in New Mexico. The trail starts in Taos Village, best known as a ski resort, and winds its way up slopes and along ridges to the summit. Commanding views of nearby peaks and lakes await you up top.
The Two Best Scenic Wonders in Each of the Mountain States
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The Mountain States– Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico– have some of the wildest and most rugged landscapes in the United States. Because they’re so big, it can take a lot of time to visit them, so it helps to be able to plan for some specific destinations.
Following are our choices for the top two must-see outdoor locations in each of these seven states.
The Two Best Scenic Wonders in Each of the Mountain States
The 30 Most Beautiful Places in the World That Everyone Must See
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There’s no way you could ever come up with a definitive list of the world’s most beautiful places. However, if you ask around, some places come up a lot more frequently than others do.
The following are some of the places that people mention over and over again, not in any particular order.
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